Our Team
Meet the Spiritual Life team: chat over chai, find community or resources, connect with people, get involved with programs that center on questions of spirituality and meaning, seek spiritual care.
Spiritual Life Team
Tauseef Akbar
Associate Director, Spiritual Life; Coordinator of Muslim Life
773.702.2484
takbar@uchicago.edu
As Coordinator of Muslim Life, I advise, facilitate, advocate for and support our vibrant Muslim community on campus. As chaplain I also offer spiritual care and counseling to the whole campus community. I joined Spiritual Life in the Fall of 2022, after serving as Chaplain of Muslim and Interfaith Life at Carleton and St. Olaf Colleges. If you have questions about Spiritual and Religious Life or regarding the Muslim community on campus don’t hesitate to reach out to me and/or set up an appointment. I also enjoy discussions around shared interests of religious studies, literature, history, creative writing, graffiti, travel and chess!
Jigna Shah
Senior Associate Dean of Rockefeller Chapel; Director of Spiritual Life
773.834.1885
jigna@uchicago.edu
As Associate Dean and Director of Spiritual Life, I oversee and manage support for religious and spiritual life on campus, including addressing the needs of students of particular traditions, facilitating understanding of and across traditions among other things. A native New Yorker commuting from Plainfield, IL–I joined UChicago in 2005 and the Rockefeller & Spiritual Life team in 2011. I love UChicago’s Shake Day tradition, chai, chats, board games and Netflix binges! Come see me for any of the above or anything else (even coffee!) (Pronouns: she/her).
Kimraj Jordan
Spiritual Life Program Coordinator
- Divinity School
- Coffee or Tea: Coffee
- Hometown: Fullerton, CA
- Fun Fact: I have aphantasia which means I don’t make pictures in my head when I read/think!
Arlene Li
Spiritual Life Program Coordinator
- College
- Coffee or Tea: Neither, I love hot chocolate best!
- Hometown: Beijing, China
- Fun Fact: I am a huge fan of hiking and swimming.
Dylan Mears
Spiritual Life Program Coordinator
- Divinity School
- Coffee or Tea: Coffee
- Hometown: Lexington, KY
- Fun Fact: I love embroidery and have been working on one project for over a year and a half!
Diego Orrego
Spiritual Life Program Coordinator Lead
- College
- Coffee or Tea: Mocha
- Hometown: Kensington, MD
- Fun Fact: I make a mean loaf of focaccia
Nuria Rodgers
Spiritual Life Program Coordinator
- Crown School of Social Work
- Coffee or Tea: Coffee
- Hometown: Plainfield, IL
- Fun Fact: I have a cat I love very much! It’s my baby!
Katarina Stanisavljevic
Meditation & Yoga Facilitator
- Divinity School
- Coffee or Tea: Oolong Tea
- Hometown: North Riverside, IL
- Fun Fact: I originally went to art school to study photography
Jessica Taing
Yoga Facilitator
- Crown School of Social Work
- Coffee or Tea: Tea
- Hometown: Brandenton, FL
- Fun Fact: Ratatouille is my ultimate comfort movie. I rewatch it every month or so!
Omari
Office Dog
- Service animal
- Hard or Soft Toys: Soft
- Hometown: Concordia, KS
- Fun Fact: I (sometimes) bark and wag my tail while sleeping.
Spiritual Life Liaisons
Spiritual Life recognizes individuals from particular traditions who serve the campus as a whole, and also works with campus partners from key offices.
Advisors, listed below, work with Spiritual Life and other campus partners to provide support for members of their own and other traditions. They may be clergy or representatives of non-profit organizations, or faculty or community partners who work with students of traditions where no professional advisor exists. Advisors sign and abide by the Ethical Framework for Religious and Spiritual Life.
TBD
Student Wellness Liaison
773.834.XXXX
Spiritual Life Advisors
Jon Aaron
Advisor
JAaron1@uchicago.edu
Confidential Resource
Insight Meditation
(Pali Tradition)
The Rev. Stacy Alan
Chaplain
salan@uchicago.edu
Confidential Resource
Christian (Episcopal)
Brent House, Canterbury Club
Saba Ayman–Nolley
Advisor
saymannolley@uchicago.edu
Confidential Resource
Bahá’í
Bahá’í Student Association
Mrs. Baila Brackman
Rabbi
chabad@uchicago.edu
Confidential Resource
Jewish
Chabad, JGrads
Rabbi Yossi Brackman
Rabbi
rabbi@uchicago.edu
Confidential Resource
Jewish
Chabad
Reverend Angie Buchanan
Advisor
angiebuchanan@uchicago.edu
Confidential Resource
Pagan Animist
Earth Traditions / University of Chicago Pagans
Rev. Eric Flood, DMin
Campus Staff Minister
eflood@uchicago.edu
Confidential Resource
Christian (Interdenominational)
InterVarsity Graduate Christian Fellowship
Mrs. Rebecca Flood
Campus Staff Minister
becky.flood@intervarsity.org
Confidential Resource
Christian
(Evangelical Covenant Church)
Graduate Christian Fellowship
Jenn George
Advisor
jcgeorge@uchicago.edu
Confidential Resource
Jewish
Hillel
Swami Ishatmananda
Advisor
info@chicagovedanta.org
Confidential Resource
Hindu
(Vedanta Society of Chicago)
Hindu Sangam
Brother Adam Jardine
Advisor
JardineAR@ChurchofJesusChrist.org
Christian
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
Latter-day Saint Student Association
Samuel N. Landon
Advisor
snlandon@uchicago.edu
Catholic
Calvert House
Rev. Dr. Woo Min Lee
lwm0408@uchicago.edu
Confidential Resource
Christian
(United Methodist Church)
Korean-American United Methodist Campus Ministry
Moises Mendez
Campus staff
moisesm@uchicago.edu
Confidential Resource
Christian (Ecumenical)
Christians in Business at Booth
Rev. David H. Messner
Sr. Minister
messner@uchicago.edu
Confidential Resource
(Unitarian Universalist)
Campus Ministry, First Unitarian Church
Bing Nieh
Pastor
bnieh@uchicago.edu
Confidential Resource
Christian
(Evangelical, Protestant/Non-denominational)
The University Ministry of Christ Church Chicago (UMC3)
Charles Nolley
Advisor
cnolley@uchicago.edu
Bahá’í
Bahá’í Student Association
David Park
Campus Pastor
davidpark@uchicago.edu
Christian
(Southern Baptist, SEND Network)
International Student Fellowship
Voyage College Church
Matthew Podszus
Director
mpodszus@uchicago.edu
Christian (Protestant)
CANA Journal, Poema, Veritas Forum
Kevin J. Priest
Director of Graduate Life
kevin@uchicagohillel.org
Jewish
Hillel
Rabbi Mendel Rapoport
Rabbi
rabbimendel@uchicago.edu
Confidential Resource
Jewish
Chabad, JGrads
Michael Schnabel, PhD
Buddhist Advisor
mschnabel@uchicago.edu
Chan / Zen Buddhism,
UChicago Buddhist Association, Wednesday Chan/Zen Meditation @Rockefeller Chapel
The Rev. Matthew Stuhlmuller
Campus Pastor
mstuhlmuller@uchicago.edu
Confidential Resource
Christian (Lutheran, ELCA)
Lutheran Campus Ministry
Reverend Andrew M Wawrzyn
Chaplain
awawrzyn@uchicago.edu
Confidential Resource
Roman Catholic
Catholic Student Association Graduate Catholic Student Association
Miwa Yasui
Associate Professor
Faculty Advisor for AAIV
myasui@uchicago.edu
Christian
Asian American Intervarsity
Kirstin Yu
Advisor
kyu42@uchicago.edu
Christian
Asian American InterVarsity